New Endings
by finnstardust
Summary: Alternate ending for Season 1 and life onwards. JackNina.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I wrote this story ages ago and thought I'd share the first part and possibly the rest as well if anyone's interested. It's an alternate ending for Season 1 and onwards. Is, or will be, Jack/Nina.

Rating: K+ for now at least

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters except for Nina's family.

Reviews are very much appreciated!

* * *

Mason disconnected the phone call.

"That was Jack. The Drazens are both dead."

Nina closed her eyes and let out a small sigh of relief. "Is he all right?"

"He sounded fine." Mason started back into his upstairs office. "Keep me posted if he calls back."

"Sure." She walked behind her desk and sat down, for a moment allowing herself to relax and thus missing Tony slip out of the room.

Teri Bauer, however, noticed and frowned upon his demeanour; the entire office seemed relieved to hear their boss was OK and the bad guys had been caught, why wasn't Tony?

She took a few steps out of the room to go after him but Nina stopped her.

"Teri, where are you going?"

"Just to the ladies room", she lied haphazardly, giving the other woman a slight smile. "I need to freshen up."

"OK, but be careful." Nina walked her to the office door. "As a matter of fact, I think I should come with you."

"Nina, I'm a grown woman. I can go to the bathroom myself. Just stay here in case Jack calls back."

"All right then." Nina frowned, something was bugging her. "But come right back here, OK?"

Teri nodded and started down the corridor.

"Nina? Can you come up for a moment?" Mason was on the stairs.

"Yeah, I just…" She looked after Teri, battling her inner instinct to follow Jack's wife, before walking back into the room. "Is it urgent?"

Mason rolled his eyes. "Is there something that isn't urgent today? Is something wrong?"

"I'll be right there, OK? I just want to check on Teri."

"Fine." Mason walked back upstairs, mumbling something about babysitters.

Nina walked to the bathroom.

"Sorry, Teri, I know you didn't want to be followed, I just wanted to check you're all right."  
Silence. Nina frowned.

"Teri?"

Still nothing. She walked to the cubicle doors, cursing under her breath when she noticed they were all empty. Where the Hell was Teri?

The corridor was empty too and Nina rushed back to the office.

"Has anyone seen Teri Bauer?"

A few of her subordinates shook their heads. "Not since she left a while ago."

"Damn it!" Nina walked back to the corridor. "Teri! Are you here?"

No answer. "Teri, don't play with me, not now. Please. I know you're mad at me for sleeping with Jack but…"

She shut up, muttering to herself. "Never mind. We don't need everybody to know that."

After a few moments of running the corridor up and down she saw Tony come out of one of the smaller computing rooms.

"Oh good, Tony. Have you seen…?"

Her sentence was cut short when he pointed a gun at her. Nina could feel her eyes widen.

"What are you playing at? Tony?"

He glanced behind him; the exit was clear.

"I'm really sorry, Nina."

"What do you mean?" Her heart was bounding so fast, her eyes glued to the gun. "Sorry about what?"

"That I have to do this." He raised the gun and she suddenly realized what was going on. He was the traitor.

"No, Tony, please…"

The words were drowned by the gun sound. Nina tried to move out of the way but still felt a sudden, burning pain in her left shoulder, dangerously close to her heart and saw her own blood paint the floor red before her legs gave out and everything went dark.

* * *

Jack watched as the guards drove Tony away from the parking lot, handcuffed and guarded, no longer a threat to any of them. He shook his head, closing her eyes for a moment; this was absolutely unbelievable. He had worked with Tony for years, they had become good friends, and he couldn't bring himself to accept he had betrayed all of them like this.

He slammed his hand on the button that opened the sliding doors into the corridor and ran up the stairs to CTU floor. He had to find his family and brief the office; maybe then this nightmare would be over.

He opened the stairway door and nearly tripped on someone lying on the floor.

"What the…oh my God."

His eyes took in the blood and the small frame of the woman on the floor, looking deathly pale.

"Nina?" He kneeled down, already hitting 911 on his mobile and lifted her jaw to get his fingers on the artery in her neck.

"Nina, please." He mumbled, desperately searching for a pulse, his eyes filling with tears. "Don't you dare die on me!"

Something moved under his fingers and he pressed down harder, lowering his head close to her mouth to check if she was breathing. To his tremendous relief, he now felt a faint beat in her neck and an even more faint drift of air on his cheek.

"Thank God." He wiped tears from his eyes and looked at the gunshot wound on her chest; the bullet had to have missed the heart or she would definitely be dead by now. He wondered if Tony had shot her right before trying to escape or if she had been lying in here longer.

"Where the hell are they?" He cursed the Los Angeles paramedics under his breath, touching Nina's cheek. A quiet moan escaped her mouth and her eyes fluttered open.

"Nina?" Jack placed his hands on both sides of her neck to support her head and to keep her from moving.

"Jack?" Her voice was a coarse whisper. "What happened?"

"Don't worry about it now, OK? You'll be fine, just lie still."

"Am I dying?" Her green eyes searched his and he gave her a gentle smile.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

She turned her eyes down to see the wound, which he had covered with his coat to slow down the bleeding. It wasn't helping much; blood was still flowing underneath. It didn't look good.

"Jack?" She swallowed. "If I don't make it…"

"Shh." He touched her cheek again. "Don't even think about that. You'll be absolutely fine."

"No, I…I need you to know something. If I don't see you again, I…"

"Dad?"

He turned his head to see his daughter standing on the CTU doorway. "Kim? Are you all right?"

"Yes. What's going on?" She walked closer. "Nina?"

She turned her head. "Kim. I'm so glad to see you're OK."

Kim kneeled down next to her dad. "What happened?"

Nina's eyes clouded over and Jack looked at his daughter.

"Kim, go back to the office, OK? I already called an ambulance, she'll be fine. Tell your mother I'll be right there."

"I haven't seen her." Kim frowned. "I just got back here; I thought she was with you."

Jack shook his head, getting a bit worried now. "I'm sure she's here somewhere. I'll just make sure Nina's OK; I'll come find you then."

Nina had closed her eyes to stop a tear escaping, when she remembered what had happened before she had been shot. Teri was still missing, it wasn't good.

"Jack…"

The elevator door opened and paramedics rushed to them. Kim backed away.

"What happened?" A female paramedic took Nina's pulse and hooked her up to a monitor.

Jack stood up. "I found her like this. She's been shot."

"OK, we'll take it from here." The paramedics lifted Nina into a gurney and Jack joined his daughter.

"Will she be all right?"

"It's impossible to say before we know the extent of her injuries." The gurney was moved into the lift and the paramedic glanced at Jack. "We'll let you know."

"Thank you." He watched the elevator doors close and walked to the CTU door, now packed with curious people. "What happened, Jack? Is Nina OK?"

"I'm not sure. We'll brief you all later when we have the details. You can go home, the situation's over. Thank you for your hard work today, everyone."

People scattered from the doorway, talking about Nina and everything that had happened on that day. Jack rubbed his face.

"Kim, wait in the office, OK? I'll go find your mother."

She nodded, taking a seat on Nina's desk and wrapping her arms around herself. People gave her sympathetic smiles as they filed out of the office.

Jack was getting very, very worried now; he had checked most of CTU and Teri was nowhere to be found. Nobody had seen her or heard anything.

He dialled his home phone number on his mobile to check if she had gone home; it was unlikely, though, that she would have left without Kim. Nobody answered.

Frowning, he noticed a few drops of blood leading into a small computer room: was that where Nina had been shot?

Deciding to check it out, he pushed open the door.

* * *

Nina felt as though she was drowning.

A white foam-like substance engulfed her and she looked wildly around, gasping for breath and trying to find a way out. Someone was calling her name and she fought desperately to get up towards the light above her.

"Miss Myers? Nina?"

She finally managed to open her eyes and blinked a few times, looking at the white walls before registering she was in a hospital.

"How are you feeling?"

The voice belonged to a friendly-looking nurse who was standing by her bed.

"What happened?" She tried to get into a sitting position but the nurse pressed down on her shoulder.

"Stay down, Nina. You were shot; the doctor will come and talk to you soon. You need to rest now."

"I'm not dead?" She remembered the dream; she had been convinced that was Heaven - or Hell.

"Not even close." The nurse smiled and fixed her pillow. "Rest."

She was met at the door by a doctor. "How are you doing, Nina? Any pain?"

Nina frowned, only now becoming aware of the dull, throbbing discomfort on her left shoulder. "It hurts."

"That was to be expected." The doctor adjusted a drip going into her hand. "We have you on morphine; it should keep the worst pain away. We removed the bullet in surgery and repaired the damage. You'll be fine."

"How bad was it?"

"Well, I'll say you were very lucky; if the bullet had entered your body a few centimetres to the right, you wouldn't have made it. There was no damage to your heart or lungs, but you did lose quite a lot of blood. We gave you a transfusion and with rest, you'll be as good as new."

"Thank you, Doctor." She sighed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled. "I'll be back to check on you a little bit later. In the meantime, please try to sleep."

* * *

She slept, restlessly, plagued by nightmares, her waking moments haunted by memories of her and Tony, everything she must have missed during the few months they'd been together. It wasn't so bad he'd tried to kill her; she had been an obstacle on his way but he had betrayed them all, the whole office, and the whole country. He had tried to set up Jack, kill him; he had certainly killed Jamey and Nina didn't even want to think about what he had done to Teri.

She shivered with disgust when she thought about him touching her, all the nights they had spent together. How could she have been so blind?

She wanted desperately to see Jack; some sixth sense told her Teri was dead, in a way she had known already when she had been wandering the corridors of CTU in search of her. It would devastate Jack, despite the recent problems he had had with his wife, he had still loved her, loved her enough to get back together with her, to leave Nina. She needed to see him…but she was so tired…

* * *

Days passed and she drifted in and out of hazy sleep; waking up to eat and drink, even though very little, reluctantly getting out of bed to walk around with the nurse; seeing a physical therapist who guaranteed her arm would function perfectly well again after a while. On the fourth day she developed a high temperature, shivers and nausea and the doctor watched her, worried, prescribing a course of strong antibiotics to fight the infection that had claimed the gunshot wound. Some people visited her, her friends, colleagues, even bosses but not Jack; that much she gathered in her feverish state. No one told her what had happened, changing the subject every time she weakly brought it up.

A week in the hospital and the infection subsided; she was more lucid and wanted to go home during her waking moments; every time the doctor sternly refused to let her go and she gave up eventually. Her older brother arrived from Louisiana, her parents from Australia where they had been on holiday and she felt guilty for them having to interrupt it because of her.

Christina Myers watched her only daughter sleep and smiled, kissing her forehead. She didn't see her children very much as they were both so independent and reluctant to admit they might still need their parents but now she wowed to stay with Nina as long as possible. When her son Chris had called them in the hotel and told the news about his sister having been shot, Christina had felt her heart crush. She had been so scared Nina would die before she got to be on her side and now she thanked God several times a day for the fact she was going to be all right.

Paul Myers walked into the room, giving his wife a cup of coffee and brushing hair from his sleeping daughter's forehead. Nina's beautiful face was inherited from Christina, the dark hair and green-blue eyes were his but nobody else in the family had the long, thick lashes shadowing her cheeks, which had amazed her parents ever since she had been a baby.

"Chris went to get some things for her", he quietly said and Christina nodded.

"She keeps calling a name in her sleep: Jack. Do you know who that is?"

Paul frowned. "Jack Bauer, maybe? I think he's her boss at CTU."

"Why is she calling for him?" Christina stroked Nina's cheek and she turned her head a little, her eyes opening again.

"Mum?"

"Hey, sweetheart. We're here."

"Dad?" She turned her head to see her father smile at her.

"How are you feeling?"

She sighed and answered with a question of her own.

"How long have I been here?"

"Ten days. You've been sleeping for most of it, though."

Nina nodded, swallowing. "Mum? Can you do something for me?"

"Anything you need."

"I need you to go see Jack."

Christina glanced at her husband. "Who is he, honey? Your friend? Why hasn't he been to see you?"

"Because…"She fought another wave of tiredness that washed over her. "You'll understand when you go over. Please, mum."

"All right. Where does he live?"

* * *

TBC?


	2. Chapter 2

OK, here's the second chapter. Thanks for my reviewers! I'm not sure how this story will turn out as I haven't planned it very far. If inspiration strikes, I'll try to continue it. There's maybe one or two more chapters after this that I've already written, after that we'll see what happens...

* * *

Christina knocked on the front door of a beautiful, Spanish style house and looked around at the garden appreciatively. Whoever this Jack was, he had someone taking a good care of the property. 

The door opened and a young girl, no older than fifteen looked at her through the dividing door. Christina's motherly instincts stirred immediately at her sad face, the dried tears and shadows of many unslept nights.

"Can I help you?" The girl sounded tired.

"I'm not sure I'm in the right place…I'm looking for Jack Bauer."

The girl nodded. "He's my dad. Come in."

Christina closed the door behind her and looked worriedly after the young girl. Something very bad had happened in this house recently; that much was obvious.

Jack walked into the living room and glanced at the visitor who at the moment had her back to him and was looking out of the window.

"You were looking for me?"

The woman turned and he recognized her immediately. Nina's face.

"Are you Jack?" She observed him for a moment: if his daughter had looked sad, it was nothing compared to what she saw on this man's face. He looked like he hadn't slept for weeks, fair-coloured hair a mess, face unshaven.

"Yes."

She nodded. "I'm Christina Myers. My daughter asked me to come and see you."

Jack sighed. "How is she?"

"She's in the hospital but…"

Jack frowned. "She's still there?"

"Yes, there was a complication. She got an infection but she'll be fine." She took a break, wondering what to say. "She keeps calling for your name in her sleep. Why?"

He swallowed. "I don't know."

Christina smiled; he obviously did know. "What happened to you? Why haven't you been to see her?"

Jack bowed his head for a moment. "I'm sorry; I know I should have…"

"It's not me you should be apologizing for", she interrupted. "Do you work with her? At CTU?"

"She's my second-in-command", he agreed.

"But that's not all, is it?"

A hint of smile appeared on Jack's face; Nina had obviously inherited her people skills from her mother, she had always been able to get him talk about anything.

Christina sighed. "Tell me what happened."

He was silent for a moment. "I don't think that's relevant right now."

"I think it is relevant when my daughter spends her waking moments asking after you and when she's sleeping she still asks after you. It's quite obvious you are, or have been, lovers, so why haven't you been to see her, Jack?"

He walked closer. "That man who shot her…"

She nodded. "Tony… something."

"Tony Almeida." Even saying the name evoked a rage in him. "Before he shot your daughter he killed my wife. My wife and the mother of my daughter."

Christina swallowed and sat down on the nearest chair. "Dear God."

Jack laughed ironically. "Somehow I doubt God had anything to do with it. I don't think he cared at all, to be precise."

"I am so sorry, Jack. I know it doesn't help but…I'm really sorry."

"Thank you." He sighed. "Listen, tell Nina I'll try and come see her soon. Tell her I'm sorry for not having been there earlier."

"I understand." She hesitated. "Can I ask you something?"

Jack shrugged. "Sure."

"Nina…she sleeps too much and she doesn't want to talk about what happened, not to anyone. The doctor said it's post-traumatic stress and I agree but I think there's something else as well…she's never been like this. Maybe you know…why is she like that?"

He sighed. "They were dating."

"Excuse me?"

"She and Tony. They were having a relationship."

A cold look appeared in Christina's eyes. "My daughter was sleeping with the man who shot her? Who killed your wife?"

"Yes. And knowing Nina, she blames herself for not realizing it."

She buried her face into her hands.

"Jack, I know it's a lot to ask but please, can you go see her? I think you're the only person who can help her now."

He looked away. "I don't know."

"I'll stay here with your daughter", she offered, desperate now. "Please. You do care about her, don't you? Nina?"

"I do", he said, quietly.

"I know this is an awful time for you but she needs you." She got up and walked to him. "I just want to get her out of the hospital but in her present state she'll end up in there for months. She doesn't even want to go home anymore, it's like she's given up on everything. Even on life."

He watched her face; the resemblance to Nina was incredible. "She looks so much like you."

Christina smiled. "She has her father's colouring, though."

Jack nodded, glancing at her blonde hair and blue eyes. The sadness in them mirrored his and anger flared in him again: Tony had affected so many people with his actions.

"We need to help our children now, Jack", she said, as if reading his mind. "I'll try and help your daughter if you'll help mine. I'm a psychiatrist; it would do her good to talk."

He smiled briefly. "I'd better introduce you to her, then."

He turned to walk out of the room but her voice stopped him. "Jack?"

He turned back. "Yeah?"

"In case you were wondering…I'm not angry at you or my daughter for having an affair or whatever it was. I trust her ability to take care of herself and you don't seem completely senseless either."

Jack smiled. "That's good to know. Thank you."

* * *

He walked along the hospital corridor, his steps getting more and more reluctant as he neared her room. He had no idea how she would take to seeing him, or how much she knew about what had happened, but her mother was right: he needed to see her; they needed to help each other now. 

An older man was leaning against the door, his eyes closed. Hearing Jack's footsteps, he turned his head, a faint glitter of recognition in his eyes.

"Jack Bauer?"

He nodded, varily, not knowing what to expect: a hug or a punch in the face. This man had to be Nina's father and he marvelled at the fact how she was a perfect combination of the best features of her parents. The man stretched out his hand.

"Paul Myers. Nina's father."

"Nice to meet you."

He looked in through the small window on the door; she appeared to be sleeping.

"She's been asking for you so…I guess you can just go in." Paul sounded very tired and worried, which was to be expected: he remembered Nina being very close to her family.

"How is she?" He was still a little reluctant to go in.

Paul shook his head, emotion flashing in his weary eyes. "If I didn't know she was my daughter I probably wouldn't have recognized her. It's like all her joy of life is just drained, like there's nothing she wants to live for anymore."

Jack sighed, quickly explaining to Paul the same he had told to Christina.

"My God." He sighed, shaking his head. "What have you two done in this life to deserve any of this?"

Jack laughed shortly. "How about breaking the Holy Matrimony? Sleeping with another woman while still married?"

Paul glanced at him. "I bet you're expecting me to give you a black eye for sleeping with my daughter?"

"I have to say I thought something like that might happen", he admitted and Paul smiled tiredly.

"I'm not that old-fashioned and I'm not stupid either; things like that happen all the time. You must be important to her since she keeps asking for you. That doesn't spell a ruined relationship."

"Yeah. Well, we'll see what happens when I go in there." He sighed. "I guess it's no use waiting any longer."

"Go on." Paul nodded. "And I'm very, very sorry about your wife, Jack."

He nodded. "Thank you."

Jack quietly closed the door behind him and walked to the bed, looking at her sleeping face. It didn't take him long to see she had been crying; her face was tearstained and it made his heart ache. Nina was so incredibly strong; she practically held the office together all by herself and she didn't cry. Never, not once had he seen her cry, not even when he had broken up with her.

He sat down on the chair that was next to her bed and wondered when she might wake up or if she even wanted to: he had spoken with her doctor briefly and heard most of her sleep was self-induced, not because she was tired but because she didn't want to be awake, didn't want to face the truth.

A nurse tiptoed into the room, a friendly smile on her face. She checked the monitor and made a few scribbles to Nina's card.

"You're welcome to wake her up. She's been sleeping enough." She whispered and Jack smiled.

"She might get mad if I did that."

"Go on, give her a good shake. She can't sleep all day." The nurse closed the door and Jack turned his eyes back to Nina.

"Well, I have a formal permission now…" He grasped her uninjured shoulder gently and shook her. "Nina?"

She muttered something but didn't wake up and he shook again. "Nina! You're going to wake up, right now, whether you want to or not."

Green eyes fluttered open, a furious expression forming in them before she realized who it was.

"Jack?"

"It's me." He sat back down on the chair, sighing. "How are you feeling?"

Nina turned her head away. "I'm fine."

She swallowed; in just a few seconds she had seen in his eyes an answer to every question she had had. She knew Teri was dead and she had absolutely no idea what to say.

"I…"

"I'm sorry I haven't been to see you earlier", he quietly said and she looked back at him, stunned that he worried about something like that.

"Quit pretending, Jack. You don't have to, not with me."

"What are you talking about?"

Nina sighed. "She's dead, isn't she? I can see it in your eyes."

Jack looked away. "Yes."

Nina closed her eyes. "God, I'm so sorry." She winced at the stupidity of her own words. "I don't know…what to say."

He shook his head. "You don't have to say anything."

She sat up a little. "Come here."

She pulled him to her and he hid his face against her chest, tears finally overflowing from his eyes. He hadn't cried properly since finding Teri's body; all his strength and time had gone into taking care of Kim.

She held him, feeling his entire body shake and allowed her own tears to fall again as well.

* * *

They stayed like that for a long time, just holding onto each other and crying, until he finally lifted his head, wiping away the tears from his face and taking a proper look at her. 

He couldn't blame her parents for being worried about her: the normally animated green eyes looked strangely empty, her face was pale and drawn and she had lost a lot of weight from her already slender frame.

She laughed a little, nervous, wiping her face. "Don't look at me like that. I know I don't look very good right now."

"You look like I'd expect you to look in this situation." He smiled a little. "I met your parents."

"Oh."

"They're very nice."

"Most of the time." She lay back down and sighed, looking out of the window.

"Don't you think you should get up? Your doctor said you're healing well."

"I don't really want to", she said, quietly. "What's there to get up for?"

He touched a finger to her cheek, gently forcing her to look at him.

"Did you love him? Tony?"

Nina snorted. "Hardly."

"Why are you so upset then?"

"Because he betrayed us. Because I slept with him for months and all the time he was planning this."

Her eyes flashed at him. "I feel dirty, Jack. I feel used, I feel like he raped me or… something. I keep thinking about every touch and it makes me want to throw up."

He nodded. "I understand."

"Really? Did you sleep with him too?"

A smile twitched the corners of his mouth. "Not that I know of."

She laughed and shook her head, getting serious. "I'm sorry, Jack. Your loss is so huge; I don't have any right to complain about what happened to me."

"Of course you do. You were shot by the man you were dating; he tried to kill you. It must have been a huge shock."

"I keep thinking about everything, every conversation, anything that I missed. He must have said something, given some clues…"

"I don't think he did." He got up to pace the room. "They're trying to do the same thing over at CTU; he's covered his tracks perfectly. There's absolutely nothing."

"And Jamey?"

"I think he must have recruited her to help, and when she was caught he killed her to stop her from saying anything that might have led us to his tracks."

Nina shook her head. "I can't believe he's such a cold-blooded murderer. It's impossible."

Tears rose into her eyes again. "I can't believe it."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "I know. Listen, I should be getting back to Kim. Your mum is there keeping her company."

"That's good, I guess. She's good in making people talk. How's Kim doing?"

He shook his head, pulling his coat on. "Not good. Not good at all."

She nodded. "I'm so sorry. Tell her…tell her I'm thinking of her, OK?"

"Sure. I'll be back to see you tomorrow."

"OK." She watched him close the door after him and sighed, the hopeless feeling washing over her once again. How the hell were their lives supposed to get back on track after this?

* * *

Nice reviews make me very, very happy... 


	3. Chapter 3

OK guys, here is the third chapter. After this there will be one more, at least for now. Thank you for reviews, I hope you keep reading & reviewing!

Also, I have some other J/N fanfic lounging around in my computer, I'm considering posting some of them. They're very AU - well, I guess everything to do with Nina sort of is...Please let me know if you'd like me to post them - I'm still new at this and unsure if people like my writing...Thanks!

On with the story...

* * *

"So do you care to tell me who this guy is, Nina?"

Chris Myers turned from the window and looked at his sister, perched against the pillows on her hospital bed, staring intently at the opposite wall, as she always did when deep in thoughts.

"Nina?"

"Huh?" She turned her eyes to her brother and frowned. "Sorry, did you say something?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "I asked who Jack is."

"He's my boss at CTU."

"That's all?"

"Yes. That's all."

Chris walked to the bed and sat down on the end, as Nina moved her legs out of the way.

"Mum said he was your lover."

Nina's eyes flashed at his direction, angry, like always when somebody talked about her behind her back. "Did she now?"

"Is it true?"

She sighed. "What does it matter? I'm not a child, Chris; I can take care of myself."

"I know." His voice softened. "I just…we don't meet often and I…I don't know much about my sister's life."

Nina smiled briefly. "Well, same here."

"So, do you want to bring me up to date?"

"Fine." Nina shook her head a little. "If it will get you off my back. We were together, for a while, but he went back to his wife a few months ago. Right now we're just friends. I hope."

"And conveniently his wife is out of the picture now. As is your boyfriend."

Nina threw her brother a disgusted look and got up. "She was just murdered, for God's sake, by the said boyfriend! You can't honestly think he, or I, would…" She shook her head. "You're being ridiculous."

His eyes followed her walk to the window. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it."

Nina was quiet; she didn't know what to say. The truth was that thought had crossed her mind but she had immediately pushed it out, angry at herself. Jack was absolutely devastated at Teri's death, she had seen it yesterday. For her to think about something like that was utterly disrespectful and stupid.

"I'm going to be there for Jack now, as much as he needs me and he will hopefully be there for me as well. That is all. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone."

Chris got up and walked to her. "I'm sorry, Nina. I didn't mean to upset you; it's completely normal if you thought about that. It's obvious he means a lot to you."

She rubbed her forehead. "Chris, please…"

"I'm going." He pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry."

"It's OK", she mumbled into his shoulder. "I'm just tired."

He pulled back to see her face. "You should go home."

"I can't, it's…" her words were interrupted by a knock on the door and Jack peeking in. "Sorry, I'll come back later."

"No, come in. I don't think you've met Chris, my brother. Chris, Jack Bauer."

The two men shook hands, Chris's expression still a bit vary and reserved. "Nice to meet you. I'll be back later, Nina."

She nodded; wrapping her arms around her body and watching him walk out of the room. Jack turned his attention to her.

"How are you?"

At a glance, she looked a little bit better than yesterday but still far away from the Nina he remembered. "I'm glad to see you're up."

A smile crossed her mouth. "I was just pissed at Chris for something. That drove me out of bed."  
"Must have been serious." He watched her walk back to the bed and sit down. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. How are things with you and Kim?"

Jack shrugged. "Well, Teri's still dead, Kim's still not back to school or even out of bed really and I'm not sure what the hell I'm doing to be honest."

"What do you mean?" She shivered, not from cold but the look in his eyes.

"I don't really know what to do now", he laughed shortly. "I don't know if I should go back to work, if I should sell the house, or what."

"I don't think you're expected to know that yet", she sighed. "It's only been a few days."

He frowned. "It's been nearly two weeks."

"Has it?" She resumed staring at the wall. "I hadn't noticed."

Jack watched her, getting more and more worried. "I want to take you home. I heard Chris talking about it before I came in, he was right."

Nina shook her head. "I don't want to go."

"You hate hospitals, remember?" He smiled softly, recalling an incident a couple of years ago that had forced her to be admitted for a few stitches; it had been a nightmare for both her and the doctors and nurses. "I don't understand why you don't want to leave."

"The last couple of weeks…Tony stayed with me a lot", she said quietly. "Some of his stuff is there, and all the memories…I can't."

He could have hit himself on the head; of course she'd be reluctant. "I'm sorry, Nina, I didn't think."

She smiled softly. "I guess it's the same for you. Except that she's dead and he's not."

"He's as good as dead", he said, steel in his voice. "After what he did…I'd love to consider him to be dead but…"

Something in his voice drew her attention. "Jack?"

He shook his head and walked to the window.

"Please don't do anything stupid." Her voice was small and he turned back, taking a deep breath.

"He killed my wife, Nina. He took Kim's mother away at the age when she needs her most. I can't just forgive that."

"He'll be punished; he'll get life, if not capital punishment. It's not like he's going to walk away from this. I understand you want to revenge Teri's death bur it's…don't scoop to his level, Jack. Don't risk it. Kim needs you, I need you."

He looked at her. "Do you? Nina, who never needs anyone? Nina who would rather die than admit she needed someone?"

She cast her eyes down. "That was before."

"What's changed?" He walked to sit next to her. "Even when we were dating you never let me in; you never told me what you were thinking or feeling. I don't really know anything about you, expect for the facts I've learned from your family over the last couple of days."

"I know." She wrapped her arms around herself again. "What do you want to know?"

"It's not about wanting to know things, Nina; it's about you trusting me enough to be open about your life and your past. I don't really need to know how you feel about…cloning people or whatever, but I do want to know what's happened in your past to make you so closed about things. It can't be your parents, from what I've seen they're not been anything but nice."

"It's not them." She moved a bit further from him. "I don't want to talk about it now."

"OK." He sighed. "I still want to get you out of here, though, so I don't really see any other option. You'll have to come home with me."

Her eyes flashed at him. "Don't be stupid, Jack."

"Well, what else is there? You don't want to go back to your apartment, and there's not enough time to buy a new one right now. Nina, come on, it's the best option."

"Kim wouldn't like it", she defiantly said.

"It might do her good, actually. She's not talking to me, but your mother managed to get her to talk a little about how she's feeling; maybe your presence would help her."

"I'm not a psychiatrist…"

"She doesn't need psychiatrists!" Jack was getting annoyed now. "She just needs a friend and I can't be that right now because she blames me for letting her mother die."

Nina's mouth fell open. "What?"

He rubbed his face. "She feels like I should have been more protective of Teri and then this wouldn't have happened."

"You couldn't have been, Jack, you had to go after the Drazens. Doesn't she know that?"

"I don't think she really understands or even knows everything that went on that day. She went through so much with the kidnappings and now her mother's death…I really don't know how she'll pull through this. I don't know how I'll pull through this. We need each other's help now, Nina. Please."

She hesitated a little more.

"OK, but on two conditions. You make sure Kim is absolutely fine with it and I'll only stay until I find a new apartment."

He nodded. "That's fine."

"All right then." Nina sighed; she wasn't completely comfortable with this but had to admit it was the only solution.

"In the meantime, I spoke to your parents; they're staying at the Hilton; you should go with them tonight, while I'll talk to Kim. I don't want you to stay here any longer. Your doctor is bringing your discharge papers around in a minute, you're good to go."

"You planned everything beforehand, didn't you?" She shook her head. "What if I had said no?"

"I know you wouldn't. You're sensible enough."

"Thank you", she mockingly said, as the doctor walked into the room.

"Jack, if you wouldn't mind waiting outside: I want to check Nina one more time and talk about her aftercare, OK?"

"Sure." He got up. "I'll go find your parents."

* * *

Nina's parents were happy with the thought of her staying at Jack's temporarily, her brother wasn't, which she had known to expect. Chris had always been very protective of her and she had made the mistake of telling him how much her break-up with Jack had hurt her; Chris was convinced now nothing good would come out of the new living arrangement.

"It's the best solution for everyone, Chris", their mother pointed out as the rental car left the hospital parking lot and headed towards the Hilton, driven by Paul. "Nina and Jack will help each other and she can help Kim; another woman in the house will make it easier for her to talk about her loss."

"That's true", Paul agreed. "Besides, there's no way Nina could go back to her old apartment; we'll go and bring your things over and I already talked to a real estate agent about selling it, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Dad." She sighed; she had really liked that apartment, it was on a good area and had a lot of space. She had bought it six years ago, after getting a job at the division before CTU, but she wanted nothing to do with it any longer. She didn't care what they did with her things, even less what they did with Tony's; she didn't want anything except for her clothes.

* * *

Her father moved his luggage into Chris's room, leaving Nina share a room with her mother. She smiled at that; the last time she had been together with her whole family, away from home had been so many years ago, she had been around ten years old. She only wished the circumstances had been a little bit better for it now.

"Come on, sweetheart; let's take a walk on the beach." Christina dragged her reluctant daughter out of the hotel after the men had left to get her things from the apartment and she had made sure Nina wasn't hungry or thirsty or in pain. Her physical therapist had devised a program for her, including two weekly visits and a series of exercises for her to complete on her own. Her arm was a little bit stiff and moving it hurt, especially if it had been immobile for a longer time, but she was hoping it would be back to normal soon and at least it was her left arm.

"Are you going to start acting like a shrink now?" She quietly asked her mother, as they walked along the Santa Monica Pier, full with roller skaters and sun worshippers everywhere. Christina smiled.

"I'm not allowed to do that for my family, you know that. However, I'm willing to listen if you want to talk about anything."

Nina's mouth twitched. "I don't know what to talk about."

"All right, how about I ask you some questions? Is that OK?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

"Tell me about Jack."

Nina frowned. "What?"

"What happened with him?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" She was reluctant to talk about this; it still hurt.

Christina laughed a little. "I'm just curious. You love him, don't you?"

Nina shook her head. "No."

"Sweetheart, it's OK for you to admit that. It's not wrong to feel like it, even if he has just lost his wife. Feelings can't be just switched on and off; if you loved him before, you still do."

"It's not right, either. And nothing's going to happen. He loved her too much to be with anyone else."

"It's not possible for him now, I agree. But after some time has passed…"

"Mum, please. I'm not ready to talk about this."

Christina nodded. "It's OK. I understand. How about Tony?"

Nina took a deep breath and tried to keep herself from screaming or, even worse, running away in panic. "That even less."

"All right." They continued walking for a while, Nina with her arms around her body once again.

"Do you have anything you want to ask me?" Christina continued a moment later.

Nina hesitated for a moment. "Earlier today…Jack said something."

"What did he say?"

"That I never let him in; that I don't trust him enough to talk about things, that I don't need him or anyone."

"Nina, you've always been so independent, as has Chris. I don't know if it was something about the way we raised you or what, but you have to admit you're not exactly the easiest person to get close to."

"I know, but it's not that I don't trust him, I really do!"

"Have you told him that? He's not a mind reader, nobody is."

"He knows we can trust each other, at work it's…"

Her mother shook her head, smiling. "Sweetheart, trusting someone in professional settings is completely different from trusting them with personal issues. At CTU trust is the most important thing because of the job description, and especially after what happened on the primary day; it will be difficult to build it up again. But tell me something, outside work, how well do you and Jack actually know each other?"

The words hit Nina like a ton of bricks: her mother had a point. Had she and Jack actually ever talked about anything else than work, about his marriage and about their relationship?

"God." She shook her head. "And here I was, thinking I was his closest friend. How can I be when I don't really know anything about him?"

"That was Teri's role in his life, Nina. She was the one who knew everything about him personally, but I suspect Jack couldn't really tell her anything about his job or what happened in the office. For that he trusted you. And now with Teri gone, he'll need someone who he trusts enough to take her place, not in his heart but as his confidante and listener. It will automatically be you, Nina, simply because there is no one else at the moment."

"What about Kim?"

"Kim is right now too angry at her father to care how he's feeling. She's focused on her own losses and it will take a while before their relationship gets back to normal; it will probably never get back to what it was before her mother died. Which is another reason why your presence there will be good, Kim will try to take her anger out at Jack at some point and you'll be there as a mediator."

Nina sighed. "I wonder what will come out of that."

"It will be fine. You have a natural knack for knowing how people are feeling; Kim and Jack need somebody like that around."

* * *

Her family wined and dined her, catching up on everything that had happened in her life since they had last seen each other and Nina had to admit it was a wonderful evening, especially since they tried their best to avoid the subjects of Jack, Tony and CTU. Her brother retired to his room early, having to catch a morning flight back to Louisiana for a meeting and their mother soon did the same. Nina stayed behind with her dad, the waitress bringing them more coffee.

She had always been very close to both of her parents, but especially to her father; as she was his only daughter, he had always tried his best to make sure she and Chris felt equal without any traditional boy-girl roles. They sipped their coffee in silence; she didn't want to talk and he knew it.

"Are you tired?" Paul asked after paying the bill and walking her out of the restaurant. She shook her head; she had slept enough in the hospital and was not tired yet. She sort of wanted to go to her room nevertheless, because her father had a special gift of making her talk about things she didn't want to talk about, and she was afraid of breaking down completely.

"Come on. It's beautiful outside." He touched her elbow and they walked out of the hotel lobby and to the beach. He was right; the moon was shining, not completely full yet but still making a gorgeous bridge into the ocean and the night was warm.

"I see now why you want to live in Los Angeles", he sighed, leaning onto the railing of the beach sidewalk. "You don't see a sight like this in Hartford very often."

A smile crossed her mouth. "It has its good sides."

"Yeah." He glanced at his daughter, still worried about her. "I wish you'd talk to me, Nina. Like you always used to, remember? You would come home after some boy had teased you in school or after a failed date in college and we would talk about it. And in the end we always agreed it wasn't so bad after all."

"I remember." She could feel her eyes getting damp. "All those problems feel so small to me now. This is different."

"I know." He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "Jack told me what happened between you. Was it after that you went to Tony?"

"When Jack left me, I was devastated, I…I knew he was married but I thought that maybe I had finally found someone I could be happy with, who liked me with all my faults. I sort of always knew how it would end but still I allowed myself to get in too far. Way too far."

"Do you love him?"

Nina sighed.

"I know your mother already asked you this but she said you were in denial about it."

"Even if I did…it's hopeless. It will never happen, not anymore."

"You can't know that. Listen, Nina, I've only spoken to him a few times but I can see he's a great guy. Full of sorrow at the moment and very angry, but still it's obvious how much he cares and worries about you. You have a bond that's obvious, even if only one of you is in the room; it's obvious in the way you talk about each other. If he was the one you ended up with, I'd be a very happy father indeed."

His words made Nina smile. "I'm glad to hear you get along so well."

"We do. Well, I guess it's time to go to bed, little one. You have a long day ahead tomorrow, moving into his house."

"Yeah. I really appreciate you three being here, dad. It means a lot to me."

Paul hugged her. "Of course we are here, sweetheart. Hopefully from now on we can be a bigger part of your life. And Chris's. I know you both have created good careers and good lives for yourselves, but it would still be nice to hear more about you."

"I know. I promise I'll come home more often."

He kissed her cheek on the door to her room. "Good night. Remember, if you need to talk about anything, I'll always listen. Even if it's in the middle of the night."

Nina grinned, knowing how much her father loved sleeping. "I'll keep that in mind. Good night."

* * *

Please review! I'm addicted to reviews...


	4. Chapter 4

OK, final chapter. The ending is quite bad because after writing this something happened to my imagination...if I get it back at some point, I'll write more.

I hope there aren't any big mistakes in this chapter - I'm so depressed because of Katrina that I didn't bother to read it through.

* * *

Ninawas shaking with nerves the next morning, kissing goodbye to her brother and promising to come to Louisiana to see him soon and shifting though the three big boxes full of her clothes and other things he and her father had brought back from her apartment. Her parents also had a flight back today and on top of everything it was the day preceding Teri's funeral, which scared her to no end, not because she was worried about attending, even though she would do that too. It was moving to Jack and Kim's house on this particular day that worried her; it would be so difficult for them.

"Are you sure you don't want us to drive you to Jack's? We would have time before going to the airport", her mother asked for a millionth time, but Nina shook her head.

"This is something I have to do alone."

Jack had called her that morning to confirm Kim had accepted the plan of her moving in; she hadn't been thrilled about it but then again she wasn't thrilled about anything right now. Nina understood her reluctance; they didn't know each other at all, having just spent under an hour together in the safe house on the day of the primary and she hoped to get to know Jack's daughter better soon.

"I know it is but I'm still worried about you." Her mother sighed. "I wish we could stay for a little bit longer but we have to get back to work."

"It's OK, mum. You already sacrificed your holiday to come here; I don't want to hold you back any longer."

"You're not holding us back, sweetheart; it's been so wonderful to spend time with you. And remember, anything you need, just ask."

She nodded, just as Jack emerged from the elevator, followed by her father, both carrying a box.

"For a woman you have surprisingly few clothes", he grinned, setting the box down and going back upstairs to get the last box.

"We're all set", Paul said. "I checked the rooms to make sure nothing's left behind."

He pulled Nina into a hug. "Are you sure you don't want us to get a later flight?"

She smiled. "Yes, dad, I'm sure." She buried her head under his jaw for a moment, closing her eyes and sighing as he kissed her hair.

"All right then." Jack came back downstairs and Paul released Nina with one last kiss on her forehead and grabbed one of the boxes to carry it to the car.

"Remember, I want both of you, and Kim, to visit us in Hartford soon", Christina smiled, giving Jack a hug. "You're welcome anytime."

"That sounds like a good plan", he smiled back and shook hands with Paul. "And I promise to take care of Nina."

Paul nodded. "Thank you."

Christina pulled her daughter a bit further from the men. "I was thinking…you really should see a psychiatrist for a while. It would help to get an opinion of someone who's not involved. I know you don't like the idea but consider it, OK?"

Nina nodded. "I promise." She hugged her mother. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, sweetheart. I'll call you in a couple of days, see how things are going."

They walked back to the cars and Nina hugged her dad. "You should go. The traffic's quite heavy."

"We will. All the best for you, Jack, and Kim as well."

"Thank you." He nodded and watched them get into the rental car. Nina waved and her parents drove away.

"Are you OK?" He asked on a low voice, watching her face. Nina shrugged.

"I'm fine."

He didn't really believe her but decided not to press her.

"Ready to go?"

* * *

She took a deep breath as he parked on the driveway of his house, not wanting to get out of the car at all.

"Are you coming?" He opened his door and turned to look at her. "Nina?"

She didn't say anything, just staring out of the window and Jack sat back down.

"Look, Kim's not in yet, if that's what you're worried about. I managed to persuade her to go out with one of her friends."

"She'll be home at some point." Nina looked at her hands, feeling uncomfortable. He sighed.

"I thought you were OK with this. What's different now?"

She shook her head. "I just…I don't think this is a good idea. Maybe I should just…"

"Just what? The other option is to go back to your apartment, remember? Would that be better?"  
"I don't care." She lifted her eyes from her hands. "I really don't."

"Fine. In that case, why don't you stay out here? I really don't have time or patience for your mood swings now, Nina."

He slammed the car door shut and headed inside as she bit her lip to stop herself from crying. He was right; who was she to make him deal with her indecisiveness, when he had generously offered his house to her? Who was she to just throw away his help at such difficult time of their lives?

Slowly she got out of the car, closing the door and walking to the front door, steeling herself before stepping inside. She found him in the kitchen, nursing a glass of water.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was barely loud enough for him to hear. "I had no right to behave like that."  
Jack shrugged. "It's fine."

"No, it's not." She took a step closer. "I don't want you to think I don't appreciate your help, because I really do, so much, and I know I'm rubbish at letting you know that."

He gave her a wry smile. "Nothing new there."

His comment hurt her slightly but she fought back an angry reply and turned away. "I'll get my stuff."

"Nina, wait." He walked to her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

She scoffed. "It's true though, isn't it? That's what you've been saying all along. I guess we really don't know each other, Jack. Not like I thought we did."

He frowned. "What makes you say that?"

She sighed, experasted. "We never talked about anything but work, and when we weren't talking about it we were having sex. I'm sure you remember that."

He nodded. "Well, maybe this will give us an opportunity to get to know each other better. Who knows what we might find."

"Indeed." She turned away. "Maybe we'll end up hating each other and you can kick me out."  
"Nina, stop that."

"Just kidding." She stepped out of the door. "Just kidding."

* * *

She arranged her things in the guest room, leaving most of them into the boxes, not wanting to get too comfortable in the house that wasn't hers, house in which she had always felt like a stranger. Even though she wanted to help Jack as much as possible, she also hoped she wouldn't have to stay here too long.

Shivering, she pulled on a woollen cardigan; the weather had taken a turn into a cooler direction and she was always cold nowadays, having lost a lot of weight in the hospital. Walking to the window, she looked at the garden and sighed; Teri's handprint was so clearly present there.

"Nina?" Jack pushed open the door. "All done?"

"Yeah." She pulled the cardigan tighter around her. "Do you have the air-conditioning on?"

"No." He frowned. "Are you cold?"

"A little."

"It's quite warm." He placed his hand on her forehead. "Do you feel feverish?"

"No."

"Let me see the wound." He pushed the cardigan aside.

"I'm fine, Jack." She tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"I want to check the infection hasn't come back, OK? I promised your doctor to keep an eye on it."

Nina sighed. "Fine."

She pushed down the shoulder strap of her top and he leaned closer, his fingers brushing over the stitches. She swallowed; he hadn't been this close to her in a long time and it was playing havoc with her mind.

"Well, it doesn't feel hot or anything. Maybe it's just nerves, but if you get any other symptoms we have to go back to the hospital."

"I know."

He drew back to look at her face, his fingers still on her skin, still too close. She closed her eyes, trying to control her racing heart, which she was sure he could feel under her skin.

"Look at me, Nina." His voice was quiet but she detected an undertone that made her even more uncomfortable.

"Don't do this, Jack. Please."

"Do what?" He withdrew his fingers, finally, and she dared to open her eyes, only to find his face very close to hers.

"Do what?" He repeated; a slight smile on his lips. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Whatever it is, it's too early for it."

His blue eyes narrowed. "Walk away then. Walk away if you're so sure it's too early."

"Jack, your wife died less than three weeks ago", she objected weakly. "You must feel like it's too early."

His lips twitched. "What if I don't?"

She couldn't think of an answer and he sighed.

"I don't know what I feel, Nina, and I'm sure you don't either. You're probably right."

He looked down and she lifted a hand on his arm.

"In the hospital…I felt like such a horrible person for thinking things like that…assuming that now that Teri's out of the way…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

He gave her a tired smile. "Don't worry. It doesn't make you a horrible person. Not at all."

"Thank you." She leaned to press a kiss on his forehead.

He rubbed her arms. "Feel warmer?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Well, I'd better make a start on dinner; Kim should be home soon."

"Can I help?"

He started out of the room. "You need to rest."

She rolled her eyes but he turned back. "You can keep me company while doing that though."

"Thanks." She pulled the cardigan back around herself and followed him to the kitchen.

* * *


End file.
